I was just wondering what people thought about the combination of great sound and the aesthetics of its home. I work as an IT contractor now but I did an apprenticeship in cabinet making and I come from a long line of joiners and furniture designers. When I was married I remember having to make a compromise with the wife about the looks of the hi fi system for the actual quality of the sound. I guess this is not such an unusual situation, anyway I was talking to a friend at work about the same thing and he said that if I was to make something that his wife would accept and of course sound awesome then the expense would be justified. I was just wondering if anyone else would accept that argument. The reason I asking is that I want to get out of IT , it bores the hell out of me now and would love to get my hands dirty and make something that gives me a sense of pride rather than sitting at a desk waiting for something to go wrong. Anyway maybe I’m just having my 2nd midlife crisis lol
IT boring? Depends what level you are and how much control is under your purview. If you are sitting on a helpdesk, answering the same old question, fixing the same old "did u plug it in?" problem do get old after awhile. One time I was the networking guy, but to do anything I have to request the contractors to make any changes, so I was just the phone guy, painful! But another time I was the networking guy for a medium size company and had access to everything! I was the system admin, the security officer (access), I was pretty much total control! Boy it was fun. I was also level-3, so the stupid questions don't come to me directly, they are handled by somebody else. I only had to deal with internal customers so they had to nice to me, or when want that fixed again? Nirvana. Don't ask me how I lost that job. 
Now aesthetic. Of course! she own 1/2 of the house. Are we discussing something few people know? I like aesthetic myself, just go easy with the pinks I tell her.
Now aesthetic. Of course! she own 1/2 of the house. Are we discussing something few people know? I like aesthetic myself, just go easy with the pinks I tell her.
I would. Sounds good AND looks good too just never seem to be something that can be done cheaply.
An example of pretty much total form over function in the audio world were the stereo consoles sold for decades until the late 70s. While an audiophile nightmare mostly because of the typically awful location of the speaker systems, not to mention the middling to outright crummy quality of the drivers themselves*, many of of these consoles were beautiful pieces of furniture. Style reflected the times, stretching from clean mid-century modern designs (which still look good to me) to rather gaudy ones. And many were built with great care (and were they ever heavy!), which you can see for yourself because they still appear occassionally at thrift stores & pawn shops.
IMO the better ones, though far from audiophile quality, could still produce "pleasant" sound as long as you didn't do any critical listening, and I spent a lot of time playing tunes as a teen with a GE a relative owned and a Zenith my friend's parents owned - fun times!
Couple videos showing the above:
A '68 console by Magnovox plays "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" by Hugo Montenegro. I like the juxtaposition of the 43 year old audio system and the 21st century HDTV & Xbox.
Magnavox console catalog for '72 - music genre doesn't quite fit the looks of the systems, but oh well
FYI: Magnavox did try to improve sound quality by installing the drivers in a thick-walled styrofoam(!!) subenclosure. Zenith also supposedly used some decent drivers in their consoles. Sharp looking Grundig console
* though their amplification systems could actually be quite respectable, according to some vintage sites I visit
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IMO speaker systems generally looked better than they do now until the late 80s or so. Then this preoccupation with minimalist design, and not the good kind of minimalism , started to be seen at all price points, as if the manufacturers thought everyone wanted replicas of studio monitors sitting in their living rooms. And for some reason here in the States, most of the time it seems we get stuck with only black as a choice of finish, while the rest of the world almost always gets a choice of black woodgrain, walnut, beech, maple etc etc. In my experience black has very low WAF and manufacturers are just making it more difficult for themselves sales-wise by limiting us to that color for many speaker lines.
Rant over.
, started to be seen at all price points, as if the manufacturers thought everyone wanted replicas of studio monitors sitting in their living rooms. And for some reason here in the States, most of the time it seems we get stuck with only black as a choice of finish, while the rest of the world almost always gets a choice of black woodgrain, walnut, beech, maple etc etc. In my experience black has very low WAF and manufacturers are just making it more difficult for themselves sales-wise by limiting us to that color for many speaker lines.Rant over.
Assuming the question is about the speaker cabinets in general (and not individual taste in proportions, materials, etc.), then I think the least aesthetic thing about them is the required toe-in, as this upsets the rectilinear arrangement that most of the remaining furniture has. So any speakers I design must work with this in mind...
If it's about the electronics' front panels, then I demand it be all black, with all red lights, of course! (but we already had that thread...)
If it's about the electronics' front panels, then I demand it be all black, with all red lights, of course! (but we already had that thread...)
WAF is important if you want them in the living room (lounge). My wife complained for year about my giant speakers in the living room. Now that I have my own music room, they first thing she did was buy big speakers! But they are 1958 vintage Fisher, so match the decor of the house. "They're furniture" she says.
I don't see many pretty speakers these days, I agree with River757. The don't make 'em like they use to. Below are the Altec Malibu from a recent eBay auction. Simple, but elegant.
I don't see many pretty speakers these days, I agree with River757. The don't make 'em like they use to. Below are the Altec Malibu from a recent eBay auction. Simple, but elegant.
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As with all things 'free choice', you will have a polarised opinion set as to what is aesthetically pleasing and what is not. You may get someone who loves industrial looks or plain white minimalism or even someone that values great craftsmanship above all else (examples below)
I think to make a product that more people would like you may have to go into the darker recesses of what 'humans' find appealing. The 'golden ratio' appears in nature and a simple box made to its rules appeals to our basic aesthetic subconscious.
I wouldn't ask too many significant others though. You'll end up with something unobtrusive that doesn't sound great........BOSE
I think to make a product that more people would like you may have to go into the darker recesses of what 'humans' find appealing. The 'golden ratio' appears in nature and a simple box made to its rules appeals to our basic aesthetic subconscious.
I wouldn't ask too many significant others though. You'll end up with something unobtrusive that doesn't sound great........BOSE
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Given that most music audio originated from some sort of somewhat small, conventional speaker via a miked amp, (even in a studio) and then mixed via small sudio monitors, why is it so difficult to reproduce the sound with rather small aestheticly pleasing speakers?
Why must they often be some sort of offending monsters even in a small listening environment?
Personally, my mantra has alwas been "listen with your ears, not your eyes"
Why must they often be some sort of offending monsters even in a small listening environment?
Personally, my mantra has alwas been "listen with your ears, not your eyes"
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Huh?
I'm sitting here listening to a recording of Piano, Sax, upright bass, cymbals, snare, toms and bass drum. None of which originated from a speaker and none of which are small.
I try to design most of my speakers with both aesthetics & sonics in mind. The speaker that has likely best acheived this so far is the Frugel-Horn Mk3 (not by myself, this one was a team)... it has already been called a timeless classic. Of course not a universal panacea, but it has hit the sweet spot for a lot of people and their SOs. (Pano, even Cal has a pair). That it can be done real cheap (frugal-phile(tm)) doesn't hurt either.
BTW, i (mostly) dumped my 'puter job a dozen years ago, i sure make a lot less money but get much greater satisfaction.
dave
Personally I want to hear instruments and voices life size. Not what some tiny speaker has squeezed them into.
Personal tastes I suppose. No reason that big or small can't look good.That said, most line array speakers I've heard sound larger than life. A fun effect, but not for me, no matter how cool they look.
And therein lies the problem the insurmountable problem
2 fields of choice, 1)sounds good & 2)looks good
even if you only sell to people in England you have a possible 51 million answers and for by far the majority of them 'hi-fi sound' is not a priority. In fact, we're almost back to the grand days of listening to mono from a Quad ESL (albeit now stereo from a small ipod dock on a shelf!)
This ( Model XL - Geneva Sound Systems ) appeared in my wife's latest copy of Elle Decoration (but without the stand) - I think it looks quite nice - it has a cd player, ipod dock and DAB radio. There are 6 100w digital amps and 2x tweeter, mid and 8inch bass
In the times were living in where album purchases are at an all time low and downloads are hitting new highs, simple/discreet 'dock' like this one is probably your best bet for selling in decent numbers - you should easily be able to beat £1699! Maybe a modern take on the console systems of old?
2 fields of choice, 1)sounds good & 2)looks good
even if you only sell to people in England you have a possible 51 million answers and for by far the majority of them 'hi-fi sound' is not a priority. In fact, we're almost back to the grand days of listening to mono from a Quad ESL (albeit now stereo from a small ipod dock on a shelf!)
This ( Model XL - Geneva Sound Systems ) appeared in my wife's latest copy of Elle Decoration (but without the stand) - I think it looks quite nice - it has a cd player, ipod dock and DAB radio. There are 6 100w digital amps and 2x tweeter, mid and 8inch bass
In the times were living in where album purchases are at an all time low and downloads are hitting new highs, simple/discreet 'dock' like this one is probably your best bet for selling in decent numbers - you should easily be able to beat £1699! Maybe a modern take on the console systems of old?
Sorry guys , yes I have been reading the thread when I have the chance, I have just finished modifying my TDL’s and had to fit the huge crossovers on the outside, aesthetics went out of the window on that occasion , but sound quality was increased many fold. (Ergo : “the dreaded compromise”!) Although I am lucky in one sense I don’t have to justify anything I do anymore because I am no longer in a relationship.
I think we deviated a little, to discussing a modern aesthetically pleasing console? Although I do like the idea and I think there is a market, my direction to start with, would be towards functionality as a piece of furniture, and that is also pleasing to the eye. In one way we only have one side of the audience that input is required from, although I have no idea if all the contributors to the thread are in fact male, I suppose I have to make that assumption, seeing as this forum is dedicated to the musical reproduction side rather than interior design. Of course although most men may deny it, the female in most relationships / species decides how the nest is constructed and furnished. Also it’s fair to say, that financially, either both parties have a say, or the decision is made solely by the female.. J.
So back to the topic in hand, my idea is to produce high quality furniture that is both stylish and functional.
·High quality, because I simple don’t like low quality, plus the market for bespoke handmade furniture demands it. I am not thinking of producing for the masses, it will not be the IKEA of audio equipment housing.
·Stylish is also tied in with quality, as has been mentioned in the thread; there are timeless classics, pieces of furniture that have never looked out of place in any modern house for the last 100 years. I have Knoll Chair, designed over 70 years ago that still looks good and is both practical and comfortable. There will be functionality compromises for style or visa versa. Doors may have to slide rather than swing, or have the ability to store away within the cabinet. All these things have been done and done successfully for many years so finding a practical solution is not a problem, incorporating it in to the style may be.
·Functionality: all furniture has to have functionality to justify its own existence, whether it is, simply to house books, display a flower arrangement or to make it comfortable to remain in the room. The functionality I hope to achieve will be the housing of the audio equipment , i.e the amp – DAC – HTPC – turntable etc, I may even go so far as to try and incorporate a discrete Plasma or LCD tv.
·Speakers: The majority of my work will be in the speaker department. Somehow I have to produce good quality sound from a single piece of furniture; or rather that is my goal. So what do I do? Do I create detachable speakers that are physically moved to the correct position every time? Of course that then it becomes 3 pieces of furniture, this would be the semi optimum build for sound reproduction, but would my goal still be intact?
Do I build both the speakers as separates to the main audio equipment housing? In that case it would be cheaper for the client to buy separate speakers...?
Do I house it all in one unit that is stylish and functional and can reproduce ( at the speaker level) good quality sound?
I think we deviated a little, to discussing a modern aesthetically pleasing console? Although I do like the idea and I think there is a market, my direction to start with, would be towards functionality as a piece of furniture, and that is also pleasing to the eye. In one way we only have one side of the audience that input is required from, although I have no idea if all the contributors to the thread are in fact male, I suppose I have to make that assumption, seeing as this forum is dedicated to the musical reproduction side rather than interior design. Of course although most men may deny it, the female in most relationships / species decides how the nest is constructed and furnished. Also it’s fair to say, that financially, either both parties have a say, or the decision is made solely by the female.. J.
So back to the topic in hand, my idea is to produce high quality furniture that is both stylish and functional.
·High quality, because I simple don’t like low quality, plus the market for bespoke handmade furniture demands it. I am not thinking of producing for the masses, it will not be the IKEA of audio equipment housing.
·Stylish is also tied in with quality, as has been mentioned in the thread; there are timeless classics, pieces of furniture that have never looked out of place in any modern house for the last 100 years. I have Knoll Chair, designed over 70 years ago that still looks good and is both practical and comfortable. There will be functionality compromises for style or visa versa. Doors may have to slide rather than swing, or have the ability to store away within the cabinet. All these things have been done and done successfully for many years so finding a practical solution is not a problem, incorporating it in to the style may be.
·Functionality: all furniture has to have functionality to justify its own existence, whether it is, simply to house books, display a flower arrangement or to make it comfortable to remain in the room. The functionality I hope to achieve will be the housing of the audio equipment , i.e the amp – DAC – HTPC – turntable etc, I may even go so far as to try and incorporate a discrete Plasma or LCD tv.
·Speakers: The majority of my work will be in the speaker department. Somehow I have to produce good quality sound from a single piece of furniture; or rather that is my goal. So what do I do? Do I create detachable speakers that are physically moved to the correct position every time? Of course that then it becomes 3 pieces of furniture, this would be the semi optimum build for sound reproduction, but would my goal still be intact?
Do I build both the speakers as separates to the main audio equipment housing? In that case it would be cheaper for the client to buy separate speakers...?
Do I house it all in one unit that is stylish and functional and can reproduce ( at the speaker level) good quality sound?
Mrbobb : I’m the senior applications support Analyst for the largest Insurance Company in Europe. This will be my 23rd year of working with some form of information technology, from DAT tapes to Worldwide application rollouts. Although I agree one of the most satisfying roles was dealing with users and solving problems on the fly. I don’t think I have talked to a user in 5 years. And the part about the female influence .. my point exactly lol !
Andersonix : this for me is more about incorporating the speakers into the single peice of furniture, I ‘m trying to stay away from the electroics side ,except for the speaker / crossover etc construction.
River757 , I won’t be going for cheap mass market , I want to aim for higher end of furniture manufacturing, and thanks for the links excellent material J
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